1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a data conversion system and method. More particular, the present invention relates to a system and method in which data entries from a collection of data records are organized into a table for generation of a report and/or transferring data between different software systems, data systems, etc.
2. Background Art
As the use of computer technology becomes more prevalent, companies are increasingly seeking high technology solutions to track job performance. Specifically, a company may undertake numerous projects that require several tasks to be completed. In many instances, such projects are performed by numerous individuals with each individual being assigned one or more tasks in the project. For example, company “A” might desire to have a computer server set up in the human resources department. This project could be assigned to the information technology (IT) department (or an outside provider), which would assign any necessary tasks for completing the project to certain individuals. Thus, individual “A” might be responsible for setting up the hardware, individual “B” might be responsible for setting up the software, and individual “C” might be responsible for networking the server. In such a case, it would be valuable to track and report the status of the assigned tasks. However, since a company could be performing numerous projects simultaneously, and each project could involve numerous individuals, accurate tracking and reporting of this information is difficult. Specifically, in many instances, the data is initially collected and organized using a first (software) application. The data may then be transferred to a second (software) application that generates any desired reports. However, the format of the data as organized by the first application may be incompatible or foreign to the second application. For example, the first application may organize the data so that multiple data entries appear in the same data field (i.e., a multiple value data field). However, the second application might not be able to interpret/handle multiple value fields. Thus, there exists a danger that reports generated by the second application are inaccurate.
Heretofore, attempts have been made at developing computerized solutions to track and report project data. Such attempts, however, fail to provide a way to accurately convert data from a format of a first application (i.e., first format) to a format of a second application (i.e., second format). For example, no such attempt provides a way for multiple value fields generated by a first application to be converted to single value fields for use by a second application. Moreover, no such attempt creates a relationship between data entries and data headers so that common occurrences can be readily identified.
In view of the foregoing, there exists a need for a data converting system and method. Specifically, a need exists for a system and method whereby data can be converted from a first format to a second format. A further need exists for a multiple value data field, as used by a first application, to be converted to a single value data field for use by a second application.